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Monday, May 28, 2012

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."

~George Washington

Today is Memorial Day. Most of us are enjoying a day off from work. We're hunting down sales at the mall. We're grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. We're sitting by the pools that are finally open. We're celebrating the unofficial kick-off of summertime.

But I hope that somewhere in the middle of all that fun, you take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day. It is a day of remembrance for those brave men and women who have died serving our nation, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Want to do something to commemorate Memorial Day? The National Moment of Remembrance is at 3 PM (local time). Wherever you are at 3 P.M. today, whether you're finding a great deal on sandals or eating a hot dog while watching your kids splash at the pool, pause for a moment to remember what this day is about.

Last year was a tough birthday. Thirty-five hit me like a slap in the face from Mother Nature. I swear I woke up one year ago today and looked in the mirror to find wrinkles and gray hairs that sprouted overnight. Despite the fact that those wrinkles and gray hairs were actually a figment of my imagination, I spent the better part of age 35 wondering how over 3 decades of my life have managed to pass by and searching for ways to recapture my youth.

Last night, as I closed my eyes on my last day of age 35, I finally accepted the answer to all of those nagging questions I've been asking myself about the aging process for the past year. You want to know what the answer is? It's pretty profound. You ready?

It doesn't matter.

Yeah, that's right. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how those years have flown by because we can't get them back. It doesn't matter how badly we want to recapture our youth because it's gone. It doesn't matter how many expensive night creams we purchase because our appearances are going to change. It doesn't matter how hard we try to fight the aging process because we're always going to lose. We age every day, every minute, every second. We can't fight it. So we might as well embrace it.

When the calendar turned over to May this year, my first thought was, "Oh great, my birthday is coming up." When people asked how old I was going to be, I answered with a self-deprecating, "I'm turning old." I laughed, but I didn't think it was funny. I don't want to get older. It's not fair.

Then last week in the midst of my anti-aging self-pity party tantrum, I was slapped in the face yet again. But this time, instead of a reality smack, it was more like a love pat of insight. Not from Mother Nature this time, but from a sweet little 5-year-old boy.

"Mrs. RC, you look younger without your glasses." I looked up to see little man staring at me as I wiped my lenses off on my shirt.

"How old do I look?" I asked, anticipating the usual estimations of either 18 or 80.

"Beautiful," he said. It was so matter of fact. There was no hesitation. Just "beautiful."

And that's when it hit me. Age doesn't matter. It isn't about the number. We are as young as we think we are. And you know what? My youth isn't lost after all. My youth is omnipresent. I find it in my children, in my students, in my friends, in my gym workouts, in my laughter, in my memories. (I mean really, how can I not feel the arms of youth wrap around me when my students tell me that for my birthday they are going to give me a surprise party, a swordfish, a sweaty shirt, nachos, a new pair of glasses, cheese earrings, garbage, and a stinky frog?)

My youth hasn't disappeared. It's simply taken on a new form of maturity and wisdom. I don't feel old. So why should a silly number bother me? Therefore, I'm no longer telling people I'm turning old this year, and I no longer feel the need to answer the age question with self-deprecating humor. Today I'm 36 years old. And I feel beautiful.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Military Spouse Appreciation Day Blog Hop is officially over, and I'm thrilled to see so many military spouses join in on the meet and greet. I hope you all enjoyed finding new friends and reconnecting with old ones. Thank you all so much for participating and sharing a little bit about yourselves!

And now for the giveaway winners! We had some amazing sponsors offer up some very cool prizes for our blog hop participants. So without further ado, here are the winners according the random pickings of random.org...

Our first sponsor is Marine wife Amber from Goodnight Moon. She is offering up a $25 credit to her Etsy shop, which includes eveything from totes to zipper pouches to iPad cases and much more. But that's not all. She's also offering a coupon code for 15% off the total of any purchases at her Etsy shop to all blog hop participants. Just type in discount code MILSPOUSE at check out!

Next up we have, Army wife Kris from The New Normal. She is sponsoring a custom, patriotic knot dress. Perfect for the 4th of July or just to show off your little one's pride in the Red, White and Blue! The dress will be handmade to order and sizes to choose from range from 6 months to 6 years. The Patriotic Dress is the first one made to launch her new Etsy shop, "Happy Days," that she created with her mom.

Marine wife and mark. representative Ines from The Few, The Proud, The Wife is sponsoring mark.'s "Juicy Set."
The set includes:
•Juice Gems in Papaya, Beryliscious and Pomogranate
•Petite Slither Cosmetic Bag
•What A Line Felt Tip Eyeliner in Denim
•Lash All You Want High-Volume Mascara in Wine

Marine wife April from Marine Parents is sponsoring a $15 gift certificate to her Etsy shop. She has clutches and eReader sleeves and necklaces and toddler backpacks and so much more! She's also offering a 20% discount to all blog hop participants. Use discount code APPRECIATE at checkout!

Thinking about changing the look of your blog? Well, Army wife Brea from Utterly Chaotic Designs is offering a free Blogger design. The value of the design is $100. The winner can choose between a Blogger design free of charge or $100 off of a WordPress design (normally $200, plus $50 if moving from Blogger to WordPress). Click HERE to check out Brea's portfolio and click HERE to view her packages and prices.

Hero On My Arm is sponsoring a $25 gift certificate to their store that can be used toward a custom purse or a premade item such as a makeup bag. The company custom makes purses (and makeup bags, and hugs bears and more) from people's OWN uniforms (both military and civilian, such as first responders). Hero On My Arm is the brainchild of an Army wife and all the seamstresses are military spouses or family members. They are also offering free shipping to all blog hop participants! Just type in FONTAINE at checkout. Don't forget to head on over and "like" them on Facebook!

Want to deck your patriotic little one out in red, white, and blue for the 4th of July? *My TuTu* is sponsoring a tutu customized just for you. I can tell you that my daughter and I both have tutus from *My TuTu*, and they are adorable! Make sure you go visit her on Facebook too.

Simply Charmed is sponsoring a Girls' Night Out charm set. These unique magnetic wine charms are perfect for every occasion or everyday. They are also perfect for stemless glasses. Not into wine? No problem. Even glasses of lemonade and iced tea love to be charmed as well. These beautiful wine charms make great gifts, and are perfect when hosting a party to keep everyone's glass identified. Check them out on Facebook!

Courage Cakes is also joining our team of sponsors. "Courage Cakes allow you to encourage the troops with fresh, hot cake that's ready in seconds and a personalized message that lasts a lifetime. Share the taste of home with those serving our country and we'll send another on your behalf! Celebrate, encourage, and stay connected with Courage Cakes." The winner of this giveaway will receive a Courage Cake, 3-Pack Refill, and Personalized Lid. Yummy!

But wait, there's more! They're also sharing coupon codes with all of our blog hop participants. Just by using coupon code MILSPOUSE, you can get an 8 x 8 soft cover photo book with 26 pages. The book would be free, and all you have to do is pay $7.99 for shipping and handling (or you can add pages for a fee of $8.00 for 8 sides). The value of the code is $26.95. You can also order larger sized books and this code would deduct the $26.95 from your shopping cart. What a great deal! Make sure you go visit SmileBooks on Facebook and "like" their page!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day! Military spouses are amazing men and women, supporting our service members, enduring sleepless nights, packing up everything we own and moving across the world, and ironing uniforms. But our service members aren't the only people we support. I've come to learn over the years that military spouses also strongly support each other. And on this special day, I want to say a huge thank you to all of the incredible military spouses who have offered their love and support to me as I've traveled on this crazy roller coaster of military life. We may not wear a uniform, but we serve our country in the silent ranks. Thank you military spouses for all that you do!

And now it's time for some blog hopping! Household 6 Diva and I are proud to present the 2012 Military Spouse Appreciation Day Blog Hop!

Don't know how a blog hop works? No problem. Here are a few tips.

Please sign the linky with your party post address, not your homepage. You DO NOT need to sign the linky on both my blog and Household 6 Diva's! Add it to one and you're done.

Please post the blog hop button on your sidebar so visitors know they're in the right place (AND so you're eligible to win a prize!).

Spend some time visiting with the other lovely bloggers on the linky list and make sure you leave them a comment telling them who you are. I like to leave my party post link in my comments so it's easier for friends to visit us back.

If you're a twitter fan, we're using the hashtag #MilSpouseBloghop.

Have fun!!!

If you have any questions about instructions or technical problems, please contact Household 6 Diva. I will actually be on again, off again my computer all weekend since I'm currently attending the MilBlog Conference in Washington, D.C. Because of the conference, I may not be able to visit everyone until the end of the weekend, but I PROMISE I will make my way to say hello to everyone!

If you haven't checked out all of our cool giveaways, you can click HERE to see what you could win!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Tomorrow is Military Spouse Appreciation Day! And that means that tomorrow is also the 2012 Military Spouse Appreciation Day Blog Hop co-hosted by yours truly and Household 6 Diva.

So what the heck is an introduction post and why do I need it? Well, what happens in a blog hop is that a whole bunch of people hop around the blogosphere meeting other bloggers just like you as a type of virtual meet and greet. And what do you do in a meet and greet? You introduce yourself! That's what you need to do for tomorrow. Write a little post telling all of your new visitors about yourself. This is called your party post. When Household 6 Diva and I put up the linky tomorrow, you will copy the link to your party post (NOT the main link to your blog!) and paste it into the linky (I promise the linky is self-explanatory). Then you stroll around the list and read all the other fun party posts, leaving sweet comments as you go like you would handshakes and smiles.

Need an idea of what to write and how long your party post should be? Well, here's how my intro goes...

In case you don't know me, I go by Wife on the Roller Coaster but I also respond to Roller Coaster or just plain old RC. I decided to name my blog Riding the Roller Coaster because I always found myself telling people what a roller coaster ride military life is, with its ups and downs and unpredictability. After 2 and a half years of blogging, I'd say that name still fits.

I blog anonymously so you rarely get a whole lot of personal details out of me. I'm a military spouse rapidly approaching my late 30's. My husband is an active-duty service member, and we've been married for 12 years. We have 2 military brats: Big C is our 8-year-old son and Little C is our 4-year-old daughter. I'm currently winding down my second year of teaching kindergarten, and I'm a freelance writer in my spare time. (Spare time? Really. What's that?!)

I typically blog about whatever comes to mind. That includes, but is not limited to: military life, motherhood, the nose-picking of my students, the cattiness of my co-workers, the naughtiness of my Labrador Retriever, my love for top 10 lists, my addiction to half marathons, and my dream that one day I'll be able to balance it all.

I'm pretty active on Facebook, so you can visit me over there. I have a Twitter account too, but honestly, I don't really get Twitter. Facebook is way more fun in my opinion.

So that's me in a nutshell. Feel free to share pictures in your party post too. Everyone loves pictures.

Thanks for stopping by! Now get started on your party post, and I'll see you tomorrow! And don't forget to post the blog hop button either in your party post or your sidebar (can't win a giveaway without out)!

The 2012 Military Spouse Appreciation Day Blog Hop starts at 12 noon EST this Friday, May 11.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

I'm so excited that the 2012 Military Spouse Appreciation Day Blog Hop is just 2 days away!

Want to know why else I'm excited? Because I finally get to share all the wonderful sponsors that were kind enough to donate some really awesome giveaways!

I won't keep you waiting any longer. Here is the list of what some lucky winners will soon find in their mailboxes...

Our first sponsor is Marine wife Amber from Goodnight Moon. She is offering up a $25 credit to her Etsy shop, which includes eveything from totes to zipper pouches to iPad cases and much more. But that's not all. She's also offering a coupon code for 15% off the total of any purchases at her Etsy shop to all blog hop participants. Just type in discount code MILSPOUSE at check out!

Next up we have, Army wife Kris from The New Normal. She is sponsoring a custom, patriotic knot dress. Perfect for the 4th of July or just to show off your little one's pride in the Red, White and Blue! The dress will be handmade to order and sizes to choose from range from 6 months to 6 years. The Patriotic Dress is the first one made to launch her new Etsy shop, "Happy Days," that she created with her mom.

Marine wife and mark. representative Ines from The Few, The Proud, The Wife is sponsoring mark.'s "Juicy Set."
The set includes:
•Juice Gems in Papaya, Beryliscious and Pomogranate
•Petite Slither Cosmetic Bag
•What A Line Felt Tip Eyeliner in Denim
•Lash All You Want High-Volume Mascara in Wine

Marine wife April from Marine Parents is sponsoring a $15 gift certificate to her Etsy shop. She has clutches and eReader sleeves and necklaces and toddler backpacks and so much more! She's also offering a 20% discount to all blog hop participants. Use discount code APPRECIATE at checkout!

Thinking about changing the look of your blog? Well, Army wife Brea from Utterly Chaotic Designs is offering a free Blogger design. The value of the design is $100. The winner can choose between a Blogger design free of charge or $100 off of a WordPress design (normally $200, plus $50 if moving from Blogger to WordPress). Click HERE to check out Brea's portfolio and click HERE to view her packages and prices.

Hero On My Arm is sponsoring a $25 gift certificate to their store that can be used toward a custom purse or a premade item such as a makeup bag. The company custom makes purses (and makeup bags, and hugs bears and more) from people's OWN uniforms (both military and civilian, such as first responders). Hero On My Arm is the brainchild of an Army wife and all the seamstresses are military spouses or family members. They are also offering free shipping to all blog hop participants! Just type in FONTAINE at checkout. Don't forget to head on over and "like" them on Facebook!

Want to deck your patriotic little one out in red, white, and blue for the 4th of July? *My TuTu* is sponsoring a tutu customized just for you. I can tell you that my daughter and I both have tutus from *My TuTu*, and they are adorable! Make sure you go visit her on Facebook too.

Simply Charmed is sponsoring a Girls' Night Out charm set. These unique magnetic wine charms are perfect for every occasion or everyday. They are also perfect for stemless glasses. Not into wine? No problem. Even glasses of lemonade and iced tea love to be charmed as well. These beautiful wine charms make great gifts, and are perfect when hosting a party to keep everyone's glass identified. Check them out on Facebook!

Courage Cakes is also joining our team of sponsors. "Courage Cakes allow you to encourage the troops with fresh, hot cake that's ready in seconds and a personalized message that lasts a lifetime. Share the taste of home with those serving our country and we'll send another on your behalf! Celebrate, encourage, and stay connected with Courage Cakes." The winner of this giveaway will receive a Courage Cake, 3-Pack Refill, and Personalized Lid. Yummy!

But wait, there's more! They're also sharing coupon codes with all of our blog hop participants. Just by using coupon code MILSPOUSE, you can get an 8 x 8 soft cover photo book with 26 pages. The book would be free, and all you have to do is pay $7.99 for shipping and handling (or you can add pages for a fee of $8.00 for 8 sides). The value of the code is $26.95. You can also order larger sized books and this code would deduct the $26.95 from your shopping cart. What a great deal! Make sure you go visit SmileBooks on Facebook and "like" their page!

A huge thank you to all of our generous sponsors! And if you're interested in sponsoring a giveaway, it's not too late. Just drop me a line ASAP at ontherollercoaster{at}gmail{dot}com and I'll add you to the list.

Winners will be chosen next Wednesday evening by using Random.org. Winners will be randomly chosen from the blog hop linky list. Please keep in mind that you are only eligible to win a giveaway if you have the blog hop button displayed in your sidebar. (Click HERE to get the button code.)

So make sure you get started on your blog hop party post! I'll be starting the party early by posting my introduction blog post tomorrow. Remember to keep it short and sweet...we'll have lots of friends to visit!

If you're on twitter, we'll be using the hashtag #Milspousebloghop so feel free to join in on the conversation!

The 2012 Military Spouse Appreciation Day Blog Hop co-hosted by Riding the Roller Coaster (yes, that's me) and Household 6 Diva starts at 12 noon EST this Friday, May 11. I'll see you there!